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The invention relates to a system and method for improving the selection and operation of filters of an HVAC system and other air/gas filtration systems.
Air handling systems such as any of a wide variety of HVAC systems typically utilize various air handling and conditioning equipment and ducts and the like for transporting air from one location to another and conditioning that air as it is being transported prior to introduction of the conditioned air into the space to be conditioned.
It is frequently desirable to filter the air in the course of this handling, for the purposes of removing various particulate and/or gaseous matter and the like which may be entrained in the air, and thereby provide a better quality conditioned air to the conditioned space. As can be appreciated, filters in such systems gradually accumulate such entrained particulate and other matter from the air, and as this matter accumulates on the filter, the resistance to flow of air through the filter increases. This leads to an increase in pressure drop at the filter, and thus a decrease in operating efficiency.
Due to these factors, there is a need to change filters in air conditioning systems on a periodic basis. This changing of filters can be as simple as opening of one or more filter housings in an easy to access location and installing a new filter, to replacing potentially large filters in difficult to reach locations in industrial facilities. Regardless of the environment, the best time for changing such filters, and for that matter the best type of filters to use, is often a matter of guesswork.
Based on the above, much efficiency is lost through utilization of a filter that is not best suited due to the cost of the energy and other filtration associated costs that are associated to the particular filter during its useful life, and also through changing such filters either too early or too late. The need exists for an improved approach to reduce losses due to inefficiency of the filter and guesswork decisions upon when a filter should be changed.
The present invention is intended to meet that need.